Michael Curtis

The take-away I get from that scene in the film is you too should use a stopwatch at classical concerts. That definitely what the scene is trying to convey.

Also, are you really wanting just "how Mozart would play..." versus how his contemporaries might have played?

I think you need to make a clear distinction between ornamenting and variation. It's well known that ornamentation was done. But variation was different, as in variations on the tune of a song. Are you wondering about some level in between? Mozart's letters and contemporary treatises are where I would look.

It's interesting people still do these dances. Personally, I'm interested in the actual folk dancing groups. Like this one, The Flurries Festival youtube.com/watch?v=HorzLQn6PUs. It's not historical re-enactment, they're really dancing for fun. They aren't dancing the quadrille, but that's ok. The point is traditional dancing isn't dead.

Here is another example. Palace ballroom style. The music is by Johan Strauss Jr. , but I don't really know about the origin of the filming and choreography. youtube.com/watch?v=SXENJpWpmVs

So, a quadrille is pretty simple. But I figure it's better to do something simple and learn to do it well. Then move up to more complex forms.

It seems I had a tendency to think of melody first in terms of contour and wasn't sensitive enough to how important rhythm is. My approach now recognizes how much rhythm and metrical placement determine a melody's good, natural flow and unique character.

As for writing the melodies I tried to put into practice a "rhythm first" approach and Mon Petit Chien just provided a template to fill in. Rhythm first is just a personal thing to try fix my bad melody writing.

Fairly brisk tempo.

To my surprise I found videos on YouTube of contemporary groups dancing things like contradances and quadrilles. Here is an example from a historical society. youtube.com/watch?v=VSD37PF2_Dw

I had seen quadrille sheet music in archives like Library of Congress and IMSLP, but I really didn't know what they were. After some research I learned it was a kind of square dance. I know about square dancing from public school gym classes, where in the US they are danced to country music. Apparently the quadrille used similar dance moves, but a different music style. Musically it was more like simple Schubert of Strauss style dances.

@ElementsInSpace, I really appreciate all your proof reading help. I didn't realize how sloppy I was being. Any thoughts on the melodies? (The harmonic structure of the phrases is all modeled on Mon Petit Chien, so nothing much of my own to talk about.)

I wonder about the fermata in No. 1 m. 16. I only put that in to get Musescore's playback to feel more natural. M. 16 is obviously a half cadence and C4 D4 in an anacrusis to the next phrase. I figure an actual human player will do something to articulate the phrase break, including a possible, slight pause. I don't necessarily insist there be a pause. So, does it seem OK to remove that fermata? I mean, it isn't marked "attacca."

@ElementsInSpace, changes complete. I also excluded the measure count for the half measure in No. 4, first system after Fine. I think that would be correct. Musescore doesn't have a way to add a key signature change warning at the end of the final measure. The workaround is to add one extra measure and then do not print it.

There aren't tempo indication in the collection of quadrilles I have. So I removed them in my score. Regarding the clef changes, I used whichever clef would need the least ledger lines.

I think I fixed all the errors you found. Hopefully there aren't more. Most of those mistakes were just me rushing to finish and getting sloppy. But a few of those redundant clef changes I don't remember adding, but maybe it came from some cutting/pasting and I didn't notice.

@ElementsInSpace, thanks for the proof reading! I'm making these corrections now. Actually I want to remove the tempo marking altogether. I only had them in the scores for Musescore to make a demo mp3.

I decided to try my hand at writing a quadrille for piano. My model was Mon Petit Chien by Charles Ferlus. imslp.org/wiki/Mon_petit_chien,_Op.129_(Ferlus,_Charles) I welcome feedback of any kind.

Hi @AndyBonner have you had a chance to look at the quartet? I could add the individual parts if that made it easier for you. I'm wondering about the part writing aspects. Are things melodically good. When parts take rests and drop out of the ensemble texture does it feel normal, not awkward. Thanks, Mike

@AndyBonner, two scores makes sense. But the actual performance score, the one for humans, is what I really desire. I can live with a less satisfying computer playback.

My second concern is about articulations. I only used a few bowing slurs. I have a mix of staccato marking versus eighths with eighth rests. I am concerned that mix might be a muddle. Frankly, a lot of the staccato marks are for the sake of getting Musescore to play a better detached sound and perhaps they aren't necessary for actual players. So, ideally I'm looking for a string player's feedback.

I based the harmonic outline, instrument groupings, and basic phrasing on a Haydn model: Op. 1, Nr. 1. I think the harmony, voice leading, and structure are OK. My main concern is about the individual parts. Is it good melody? When parts takes rests, does it flow ok for the individual players?

@Lazy if it helps, I uploaded an audio file of the waltz youtube.com/watch?v=j-TgZimUDjI

@Lazy, just posted my waltz re-write. I'm glad I did this. It is now a much better example of my chosen composition model, Daisy Bell.

@user98606 what is the Bach piece you're working on? do you have the BWV number?

@Lazy I have the waltz rewrite nearly finished. What I have so far, the pages above, needs some of the accompaniment filled in, but it's probably fairly clear what will happen. It should be done in a few days.